East Coast Trip Day 2: Washington D.C.

I apologize in advance for the photo-palooza that is about to ensue, but it should be fun to have a post where you primarily look instead of read. :)

Adjusting to east coast time is not an instant happening. By the time Tom and I went to sleep, it was just shy of 2 am east coast time making it 11 pm pacific time, a perfectly acceptable summer bedtime back home. Kerrie and her family were going to be at Dad's house at 10:00 am so we could head into DC for the day.

I woke up at 10:18.

Quickly, the four of us got ready. Well, maybe not as quickly as I thought.

Todd and Adam catching a few zzz's while we get ready.

Kerrie packed lunch for all 9 of us; she even made all of the sandwiches. What a nice sister I have!

We followed Kerrie's family to the Metro station at New Carrollton, where we purchased unlimited use day passes for $14.25 per person.

Where's platform 9 3/4?

It is REALLY difficult to get a picture of all 5 of them without someone(s) being awkward. ;)

Alora was being Baby-razzi on the Metro. I love this picture of Tom!

Oh look, I was there, too!

We got off Metro and headed to Alora's pick, National Museum of American History *Smithsonian. The exhibits we visited were:

"Within These Walls..." built in the 1700's and has been moved to the Smithsonian to preserve the building practices of our ancestors.

The silver top of this sculpture slowly rotates.

Several of us had fun trying to wring out laundry as it was done in the past.

Andrew giving it a try.

Kerrie was the champion! Thanks CrossFit! :)

Alora took the camera for a bit...

Photobomb #5,496

I just love this girl!

Avery can't deny this act of brotherly "love". We have photographic proof! ;)

Adam...I'm not sure what he was doing but after the last picture, it could be preparing for a mugshot?

Our next visit was Food: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000. It was fun to see how food packaging and such has evolved.

Next up, On the Water: Stories from Maritime America and America on the Move.

Adam's new best friend. He decided to take pictures with as many statues as he could after a security guard refused to take a selfie with him.

Alora, Andrew, Adam's other best friend, Adam. They are all waitin' for the train.

How would you like to ride this school bus?

Portland, OR scene. :)

Kerrie getting "hit" by the bus.

Confession: I just realized we were one floor away from The First Ladies exhibit and we didn't go. Perhaps looking at a map and planning out which exhibits we went to would have been beneficial.

Next up: the monuments

Hold it straight, girls!

4 cousins against 1

Don't push it over, Avery!

Walking from Capital Mall to the Lincoln Memorial.

Look what we saw on our way!

It was really the perfect weather for going to DC. 83 degrees, overcast with few sun breaks. As we made our way around, we tried to see at least one thing each person wanted to see. Being there were 9 of us, we saw a lot!

World War II Memorial-Washington column

Reflecting Pool looking toward the Lincoln Memorial

Waiting in a shady spot for the rest of our group.

Them too!

Lincoln Memorial

The Washington Monument, Capital Building and World War II fountain. I love how this picture turned out.

The tree lined walkway along the reflecting pool.

Nurses Memorial

Vietnam Veteran's Memorial

Vietnam Veteran's Memorial

Beautiful

Taken from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Believe it or not, the place was swarming with people. A lot of patience and creative angles make it look like we had the place to ourselves. :)

Reality!

Look at these cute people. :)

After visiting Mr. Lincoln, it was back to Metro to make our way to Arlington National Cemetery. It turned into quite the adventure.

We walked .7 miles up 23rd street to the Foggy Bottom Metro station, boarded the train all prepared to get off at the next stop, Arlington.

However, the next stop was not Arlington. Half our group got off of the packed train and I made a last minute save of Kylin and Tom who were on a different car....to find out, we should have stayed where we were. You see, Kerrie and I didn't read the map right, and completely ignored the stops for the orange and silver lines as well as neglected to realize we had mistaken the Rosslyn transfer station as Foggy Bottom. In reality, we should have gotten off at the stop after Rosslyn. We ended up having to stay about 20 minutes in the station then split up into groups of 2 or 3 to fit on the packed trains. When we exited the Metro station and came above ground, Andrew looked back and said, "We could have just walked here. There's the Lincoln Memorial right across the bridge." Okay, so we walked .7 of a mile out of our way to hang out in the Metro station instead of walking about .5 of a mile to Arlington. Tourists! ;)

Passing time in the station...

Oh look, a train!

These signs were posted throughout the cemetery. I found them to be well stated reminders and everyone we encountered followed their guidance.

Husband and Wife

We got to The Tomb of the Unknown during the last changing of the guard during visiting hours. I have a video but I'm still working on getting them to upload correctly. Crossing my fingers! 

Tomb of the Unknown

24 hours a day, 365 days a year

The paths worn in the stone from the guards.

It is such an honor to stand in the presence of The Tomb of the Unknown and watch the guard proudly walk his post.

This was the first time I had gone around to the amphitheater behind the Tomb.

Amazing trees abound throughout the cemetery.

Taking a break on our way to see John F. Kennedy's gravesite.

Another Mama-razzi is on the loose!

Cousins born exactly one month apart. Alora is older than Adam.

This was an interesting headstone. It appears to have a drape of some sort over it.

There are stunning views throughout the cemetery.

The Capital Building in the distance.

Jackie O's gravesite.

The final resting place of John F. Kennedy. My middle school was named in his honor.

The Kennedy's eternal flame.

The Lincoln Memorial from the Kennedy's gravesite. (Yup, that's the bridge we could have walked across instead. Live and learn!)

"Camera Wars!"

Arlington National Cemetery was our last stop before boarding the blue train, to transfer to the orange train that would take us back to our cars in New Carrollton. It was getting pretty late and we were all hungry. We stopped at Texas Roadhouse for dinner. The kids had a table and the adults had a booth. It was a nice time to chat and refuel our bodies after a great day touring our Nation's capital.

Adam, Kylin, Andrew, Avery and Alora